NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Ford Motor Co. reported a $1.2 billion net loss Friday as losses in its auto operations caused it to miss Wall Street forecasts.

The nation's No. 2 automaker said that excluding one-time items such as charges for plant closings, it earned $458 million, or 24 cents a share, in the first quarter. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call were forecasting 25 cents. The company earned 62 cents a share excluding items a year earlier.

A $2.5 billion pre-tax charge to close plants, including this one in Wixom, Mich., resulted in a net loss for Ford Motor Co.

Ford saw sharp falls in the sales of its SUV's, such as its Expedition, result in red ink at its North American auto operations.

Ford's (Research) automotive operations lost $184 million excluding special items in the quarter, a sharp fall from the pretax profit of $580 million on that basis a year ago. But Ford credit posted a pretax profit of $751 million.

Ford's auto business in North America lost $457 million before taxes. All its other regions and auto operations, such as Mazda and its European luxury brands, posted pretax profits for the quarter.

The company blamed the loss in its home market to lower market share and a smaller increase in dealer inventories. Ford's U.S. sales fell 3 percent in the quarter, led by a 15 percent decline in its SUV sales across various brands.

Including a $2.5 billion pre-tax charge for plant closings, Ford's net loss of $1.2 billion was equal to 64 cents a share. That compares with net income of $1.2 billion, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier.

Auto sales fell 6 percent to just under $37 billion, while overall revenue fell 9 percent to $41.1 billion.

"I am confident that we are confronting our challenges head-on and that we will succeed in our turnaround and getting back on track to ensure our long-term success," CEO Bill Ford said in a statement. "We are clearly in a period of transition."

Ford's disappointing results follow better-than-expected results at its similarly troubled competitor General Motors (Research). GM saw strong sales of its newly introduced large SUV's.

The GM results helped lift Ford shares 4.6 percent Thursday, but Ford shares slipped in before-hours trading on Inet Friday.